William Hill - WMH

[tjh290633]

William Hill had a big fall today, 11.6%, which appears to be down to an article in the Sunday Times saying that the maximum stake on Fixed Odds Betting terminals (FOTB) is to be reduced to £2.

Reputed to be from a source close to the horse's mouth. Sounds a bit extreme to me. Only the biggest coin in normal circulation. Presumably they take contactless payment as well. The thought is that many of WMH's betting shops will become unprofitable if this comes about.

TJH

[scotia]

My first though was that it would be excellent for society if this reduction came to pass and the number of betting shops dropped substantially. And if it does, one would think that there should be a consequent drop in the share price of all betting shop owners. But they have had a significant time to ponder such a reduction, and I suspect they will have plans to alleviate the hit - e.g. by pushing even harder on on-line betting games using a phone or a tablet, where there are no restrictions on the number of players they can draw in, all without the need for real estate. So maybe a reduction in betting shops, but possibly not too large a hit on betting companies.

[StepOne]

They released a positive trading statement last week.

In the nine weeks since the trading statement on 20 November 2017, Retail and Online gross win margins were ahead of expectations and significantly ahead of the same period in 2016, due to favourable football and horseracing results. As a result, wagering growth rates slowed but overall net revenue was very strong. Gaming growth rates continued to accelerate in Online but slowed in Retail. Internationally, the US continued to grow at double-digit rates while Australia was affected by reduced credit betting volumes.

No mention of the potential FOBT changes, but seems they are focusing a lot more in Online, which was 35% of revenue in the 6 months to June, versus 55% UK Retail. Maybe this is a buying opportunity.

[markLDN]

I was just talking to someone who works in the industry and there is a lot of talk about limiting the total amount one can lose in a day. They don't know how it will be implemented but apparently, the idea came from INSIDE one of the big companies. They don't want to get regulated so they are trying to get ahead of the problem. This particular individual I was speaking with was not an investor and had no plans to be (just worked there). In my opinion, I think it should be outlawed in its entirety.

[markLDN]

Oh I forgot, he also pointed out the tax revenue that the government generates from gambling. Latest regulations just smoke and mirrors to give the illusion of doing something without actually doing anything?

https://www.statista.com/statistics/284338/betting-and-gaming-united-kingdom-hmrc-tax-receipts/